Katie and I are making jewelry, and now we have a shop in etsy.com. Check it out!!

Got a job! I start Tuesday!

On My Way

As of 8:30 this morning I weigh 162.3lbs. Because of my height, my phone app says I'm obese. I don't feel obese, but I still want to lose some weight and be healthier. Mat and I started going to the gym last week. Its great because we have people to go with who motivate us. I have gone everyday since Tuesday, except for Sunday. But I took the dogs for a walk Sunday, so I got a little something in. I have already noticed a change in my attitude and energy level. I am more enthusiastic and motivated to get things done! I love it! Here's to hoping I make my goal of 130!

Mat turns 25!

This past weekend Mat and I went camping at Big Sur with 10 of our good friends. We had an amazing time! A good mix of friends, beer, 5 tents, beach and hiking always make for a great weekend. Happy Birthday Mattie!

Here are a few highlights from the trip.

Health Journal

Today is the first day of my "getting healthy" journal. I am going to keep track of my weight, how much I lose, and what I am doing in order to lose it! and it's all public! Hopefully the fact that people will be reading this will motivate me to get it done!

The last month I participated in a challenge with some of Mat's family to lose weight. Buy in was $20 and who ever lost the most weight would win the pot. The pot is $240 i think. We find out the winner on Saturday. My start weight was 162 and as of today i weighed 155. So 7lbs! Yey! Don't think I won, but it is a good start.

*This past week*

Mat and I have decided that we need a change. We love your house and family and living in Reedley, but it has been very difficult for me to find any sort of job in the Valley and that is starting to catch up with us. In the past week I have applied to some jobs in the Portland, OR area and we hope to be able to find a renter for our house, get jobs and move to Oregon within the next year. Anyone who wants to move with us is welcome!

San Diego and some

Mat took an early vacation this past week so we decided to go to LA and San Diego to visit some friends. Here are a couple pictures from our adventure.

*New Job*

I got a job at the Met in Fresno and I love it! Part time so I can still babysit and coach soccer!

Jewelry

These are some pictures of Jewelry that Katie and I have been making. We have decided to sell them so if you like any of these are have an i dea of a color or style that you like, we can make them!

*LIfe Changing*

I just found out I passed two put of three tests I took for the CSET. I was super close to passing the third test. So apparently I was meant to be a teacher since I didn't take the tests seriously and still squeeked by. I'll see you all at graduation next year... again!

*Puppies*

Well, we got a new puppy. Mat's Mom's dogs had four cute little rat terriers in March and she gave us one of them. He is black and white, very rambunctious, and loves Waldo. We named him Bryson after the Author, Bill Bryson. Here are a couple pictures of the two boys.

Tug-o-war is their favorite game. Waldo is a little stronger than Bryson so sometimes Bryson gets dragged. Its pretty funny to watch.
And here are my boys. So cute! Best friends!

*Trip so Far*

Katie and I have had a great trip so far! Our first night on the road we stayed at an RV Park in Lake Shasta. It wasn't too bad, not the place we had planned on, but it worked!

This is a picture of Mount Shasta from I5 on our way to Crater Lake. It was really hot where we were and no snow and very clear! We had a great view of Shasta.

This is a picture of Katie and me our first night with our super cool kids headlights in the tent. We were really excited!

Katie and me at Crater Lake! It was so warm and clear and beautiful!

This is our campsite at Susan Creek on the Umpqua River between Crater Lake and Roseburg. It was a gorgeous campground.

We are now in Hillsboro, a suburb of Portland, getting ready for Katie's cousin's wedding. On Sunday we are going to Hood River.

*Morro Bay and Bible Party*

We went camping this weekend in Morro Bay with my parents and some of the Pizza Night crew. We had a great time! Waldo enjoyed his first camping experience, we got to see the Easter Chicken, and tested out all of our new camping equipment that we got for the wedding. We also did a couple of hikes, which seemed to tire my Dad and Mat out.

Here they are, napping in our new chairs in the sun!
This is a picture of our little family overlooking the mudflats in Morro Bay on our hike through the Elfin Forrest. So cool! And WINDY!

Along with our camping excursions, we decided to have an Easter party last thursday. The theme was to dress up as someone or something from the Bible. Not everyone came, but everyone who did dressed up. It was great! I love seeing everyone and dressing up just adds a little flair to the evening. Here is a picture of Tessa, Katie and Me, late in the evening.

We had had quite a few margaritas and a couple games of beer pong by this time.

Tommy and Josh dressed up as Mormon Missionaries. That's my pink bike helemt.

This was taken at the beginning of the night. Katie was Eve (thus the apple), Melissa was Mary Magdalene, I was the Seventh Commandment (Thou shall not committ adultery), and Katie was the "virgin" Mary.

We had a great Spring Break, eventhough neither of us actually has a spring break now. Thanks to everyone who made it what it was!

What did you do for Easter?

*On the Inside*

The inside of our house is finally done! Here are a few pictures!

This is the living room. Brown and orange of course!
Living room looking at the kitchen, before we got new floors.

Kitchen and new floors!

Kitchen again.

This is the main bathroom. A pretty blue, and new floor!

*Brown and Orange*

I met with my new adviser yesterday and she is great! I'm going to take the CSET and by next spring I should have my teaching credential! I'm really excited! I just hope there will be jobs available! California had better get e budget soon!

On the home front, Mat and I have been painting and cleaning like crazy! We finally finished the kitchen and living room. Orange and brown are the colors we used, it looks great! Now its on to the bathrooms! Once we get our tax refund we are going to redo the floors in the bathrooms and kitchen, and when it warms up and dries out we are going to paint the outside of the house. This weekend Mat used round-up on the whole backyard and in a couple weeks we should be grassless. We can't wait to be able to landscape a little! We have sort of a deadline for all of this, at least the inside stuff. I am hosting Mat's sister's bridal shower in March and all of her family will finally get to see the house so hopefully it will be close to done by then!

Our fruit trees have buds! First of all, they are still alive. Yey! And they have buds which means they will bloom soon! This week we finally got to eat something from my tiny winter garden. The baby greens were really good. I guess I had better do some weeding so the carrots, chard and beets can grow!

*Decision Time*

So, I haven't told anyone this yet, not even Mat or my parents, but I'm tired of looking and I really want to make a decision. I have decided that I am going to get my social science teaching credential and become a high school history teacher. I still really want to teach junior college but seeing as I don't have much experience and can't find anything worth doing, I have made this decision. I am really excited to go back to school! Truth is, I miss it, and if I could make a living going to college, I would do it! I know what you're thinking, high school teacher, right? It's obviously not my first choice, but the pay isn't bad, good vacation time, and I get to work with kids and teach something I love. I hope this all turns out okay. In the meantime, wish me luck!

*Fruit Trees*

So for Christmas my mom and dad gave Mat and I a wheelbarrow with a rake, shovel, broom, clippers, and two fruit trees! My dad and I bout the two trees last friday at a nursery. One tree has a plum, peach, nectarine, and apricot on it and the other tree has four different kinds of peaches! I can't wait until we get fruit on them! Mat also has a really good friend whose parents grow peaches and apparently they produced a variety of peach that they named after their daughter, Mat's friend, Miriam. So, we are hoping to eventually have a Miriam peach in out yard as well. Our yard looks pretty good right now, kind of boring, but not ugly. I can't wait until spring when we can start planting and planning.

On the job front I still haven't found anything. I've been researching some suggestions you all had. Thanks for the help! Right now I'm looking into how much time and money it will take to get my teaching credential. I also got an email that the FBI is hiring. So I'm going to check that out, like there will be anything anywhere close to Reedley! Ha! I am also filling out applications for SCCCD and Westhills. Doing these applications is like writing a paper! For the next couple of months I will be busy because along with babysitting 15 hours a week I am also going to be working part time with Mat's sister Chrystal helping with tax season! Exciting! Also, Mat's other sister, Heather, is getting married in April and asked me to be a bridesmaid. I'm so excited to be part of their day and hopefully I will be able to help out with all the planning!

Here are a couple of pictures of our house (in progress)!


This is the backyard before we did anything to it.

Front yard before all the leaves fell.

Pretty sunset!

Job Search!

So, I'm looking for a job, no such luck! Last year I said I was going to finish school, plan the wedding, and then work on the house... Well, all of that is done, and now, no job! I'm being picky, which is a good thing, except it's hard to be confident when all I have is a Masters degree. Ha! "All" I have? It's sad that I feel like I need more than an MA to get the job I want. Any Suggestions?